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Humane Society accuses pet stores of selling dogs from puppy mills

The Humane Society of the United States is accusing Petland stores of selling dogs from “puppy mills,” where animals are bred in cramped cages with substandard care. The Kansas City Star reports:

Michael Markarian, Humane Society vice president, on Thursday announced the results of an eight-month investigation of Petland. The investigation, he said, used U.S. Department of Agriculture reports and other records to connect Petland stores to known high-volume breeders or brokers.

Missouri was one of the states singled out by Markarian as a haven for puppy mills.

Petland Inc. responded to the Humane Society report with a written statement.

“At Petland, healthy, happy, well-socialized pets within our care are our number one priority, as they have been for 41 years,” the company said. “We do not support substandard breeding facilities, and we provide each Petland store with ‘Humane Care Guidelines’ that were developed in conjunction with the USDA to assist with breeder facility inspections as it pertains to pet selection.”

Markarian said there are about 140 Petland stores in the U.S., a mix of corporate and franchise stores, with several in Missouri and Kansas.

Humane Society investigators visited 21 stores and 35 breeders and brokers that sold to Petland, he said, and reviewed records of 322 other breeders and 17,000 puppies linked to Petland. The investigators did not visit Missouri or Kansas stores.